Much like the large commercial companies, most humanitarian aid organisations now have departments specifically dedicated to protecting the security of their personnel and assets. The management of humanitarian security has gradually become the business of professionals who develop data collection systems, standardized procedures, norms, and training meant to prevent and manage risks. A large majority of aid agencies and security experts see these developments as inevitable -- all the more so because of quantitative studies and media reports concluding that the dangers to which aid workers are today exposed are completely unprecedented. Yet, this trend towards professionalisation is also raising questions within aid organisations, MSF included. Can insecurity be measured by scientific means and managed through norms and protocols? How does the professionalisation of security affect the balance of power between field and headquarters, volunteers and the institution that employs them? What is its impact on the implementation of humanitarian organizations' social mission? Are there alternatives to the prevailing security model(s) derived from the corporate world?Building on MSF's experience and observations of the aid world by academics and practitioners, the authors of this book look at the drivers of the professionalization of humanitarian security and its impact on humanitarian practices, with a specific focus on Syria, CAR and kidnapping in the Caucasus.

When a perfect storm of personal, professional, and natural disaster threw Mike Mantel into a dark night of the soul, he embarked on a journey through his own life and around the world to rediscover God's presence through the diverse body of Christ. In Thirsting for Living Water, Mantel invites readers to join him on this adventure and open their eyes to their own stories of God's faithfulness. It's an invitation to see where God is already at work: at home, among neighbors, and to the ends of the earth. Here is a story of the holistic gospel, driven by compassion, justice, and mercy, with Jesus at the center. Here is an inspiring vision of a unified, global church-in which each of us has a vital role to play.

As government officials and political activists are becoming increasingly aware, international nonprofit agencies have an important political dimension: although not self-serving, these private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) seek social changes of which many of their financial contributors are unaware. As PVOs and NGOs receive increasing subsidies from their home governments in the United States, Canada, and Europe, they are moving away from short-term relief commitments in developing countries and toward longer-term goals in health, education, training, and small-scale production. Showing that European and Canadian NGOs focus more on political change as part of new development efforts than do their U.S. counterparts, Brian Smith presents the first major comparative study of the political aspect of PVOs and NGOs. Smith emphasizes the paradoxes in the private-aid system, both in the societies that send aid and in those that receive it. Pointing out that international nonprofit agencies are in some instances openly critical of nation-state interests, he asks how these agencies can function in a foreign-aid network intended as a support for those same interests. He concludes that compromises throughout the private-aid networkand some secrecymake it possible for institutions with different agendas to work together. In the future, however, serious conflicts may develop with donors and nation states.

Originally published in 1990.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The magnitude of refugees movements in the Third World, widely perceived as an unprecedented crisis, has generated widespread concern in the West. This concern reveals itself as an ambiguous mixture of heartfelt compassion for the plight of the unfortunates cast adrift and a diffuse fear that they will come "pouring in." In this comprehensive study, the authors examine the refugee flows originating in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and suggest how a better understanding of this phenomenon can be used by the international community to assist those in greatest need. Reviewing the history of refugee movements in the West, they show how their formation and the fate of endangered populations have also been shaped by the partisan objectives of receiving countries. They survey the kinds of social conflicts characteristic of different regions of the Third World and the ways refugees and refugee policy are made to serve broader political purposes.

For those so-minded, the aftermath of an earthquake presents opportunities to intervene. Thus, in Gujarat, following the disaster of 2001, leaders were deposed, proletariats created, religious fundamentalism incubated, the state restructured, and industrial capital- ism expanded exponentially. Rather than gazing in at those struggling in the ruins, as is commonplace in the literature, this book looks out from the affected region at those who came to intervene. Based on extensive research amid the dust and noise of re- construction, the author focuses on the survivors and their interactions with death, history, and with those who came to use the shock of disaster to change the order of things. Edward Simpson takes us deep into the experience of surviving a 'natural' disaster. We see a society in mourning, further alienated by manufactured conditions of uncertainty and absurdity. We witness arguments about the past. What was important? What should be preserved? Was modernisation the cause of the disaster or the antidote? As people were putting things back together, they also knew that future earthquakes were inevitable. How did they learn to live with this terrible truth? How have people in other times and places come to terms with the promise of another earthquake, knowing that things will fall apart again?

A global health crisis creates great uncertainty, high stress, and anxiety within society. During such a crisis, when information is unavailable or inconsistent, and when people feel unsure of what they know or what anyone knows, behavioral science indicates an increased human desire for transparency, direction, and meaning of what has happened. At such a time, the roles of stakeholders that emerge with their words and actions can help keep people safe, help them cope with emotions, and ultimately bring their experience into context leading to meaningful results. But as this crisis shifts beyond public health and workplace safety, there are implications for business continuity, job loss, and radically different ways of working. While some may already seek meaning from the crisis and move towards the ""next normal,"" others feel a growing uncertainty and are worried about the future. Therefore, it is important to analyze the role of stakeholders during these uncertain times. Stakeholder Strategies for Reducing the Impact of Global Health Crises provides a comprehensive resource on stakeholder action and strategies to deal with crises by analyzing the needs of society during global health crises, how stakeholders should communicate, and how resilience and peace can be promoted in times of chaos. The chapters cover the roles of stakeholders during a pandemic spanning from the government and international development agencies to industry and non-government organizations, community-based organizations, and more. This book not only highlights the responsibilities of each of the stakeholders but also showcases the best practices seen during the COVID-19 pandemic through existing theories and case studies. This book is intended for researchers in the fields of sociology, political science, public administration, mass media and communication, crisis and disaster management, and more, along with government officials, policymakers, medical agencies, executives, managers, medical professionals, practitioners, stakeholders, academicians, and students interested in the role of stakeholders during global health crises.

This book is the result of a Symposium on Potential Global Strategic Catastrophes, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland in 2008. The catastrophes chosen do not include remote and less immediate events. Only those with the potential to produce multiple cascading strategic dilemmas for states and the international system were selected. These dilemmas include balancing the sovereign rights of states with human rights, transnational responsibilities and burden-sharing under occasional geopolitical uncertainties. The book deals with the theoretical foundations of coping with catastrophes and the relevant inter-state and organisational paradigms. Other sections address specific catastrophes and their potential consequences: pandemics, water crises, global warming, nanosecurity, nuclear catastrophes, financial meltdown, cyber crises, demographic imbalances and forced migrations, state failure and war, massive conventional terrorist attacks and threats to energy supply.